Saturday, October 11, 2014

A feast for the
brain, this gory and genuinely hilarious take on zombie culture
simultaneously skewers, pays tribute to, and elevates the horror genre.

Seventeen-year-old
Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile
delinquents on an “Inward Trek.” As if that weren’t bad enough, his
counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now
chowing down on his fellow miscreants. As in any classic monster flick
worth its salted popcorn, plentiful carnage sends survivors rabbiting
into the woods while the mindless horde of “infects” shambles, moans,
and drools behind. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They
generate “Zombie Rules” almost as quickly as cheeky remarks, but
attitude alone can’t keep the biters back.

Serving up a cast of
irreverent, slightly twisted characters, an unexpected villain, and an
ending you won’t see coming, here is a savvy tale that that’s a delight
to read—whether you’re a rabid zombie fan or freshly bitten—and an
incisive commentary on the evil that lurks within each of us.

Best
Bits: I can always appreciate YA books that focus on guys, since those
tend to be rare in the genre. Plus, the way that the zombie apocalypse
begins in this one is totally believable. Nick works at a chicken
processing plant, and in a typical teen fashion is crushing on a girl he
thinks is out of his league. Things head south at said job, and he ends
up fighting off zombies at a wilderness camp. I'm actively choosing not
to share how the zombies come into existence, but it's pretty clear
when you're reading.

This
book definitely didn't skimp on the gore or scare factor. I was
genuinely spooked reading some scenes, with the anticipation that
something bad was about to happen (I was usually right). What makes this
book even better is the possibility that Nero may have been exposed to
the virus and could be changing as well. We get a great look at his
inner monologue and fight against the voice trying to control him.

Nit
Picks: This book has it's own language, and a completely new slang
vocabulary. In some books this works well, but at some points during
this one I was drawn out of the story. I also thought that the end
wrapped up extremely quickly. It was a time jump, and I wish I could
have seen the bits in between.

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